Senate wants to strengthen communication with Native Americans

Senate Republicans are setting up a Select Committee on State-Native American Relations “to advance meaningful dialogue between state and Native American leaders on matters of common interest,” according to a news release today. That includes education on reservation lands, the protection and preservation of Indian culture, economic development, taxes, social services, self-governance and revisions to the “outdated” Indian Law.

Sen. George Maziarz, R-Newfane, Niagara County will chair the committee. A bipartisan group of senators will be named to serve on the panel.

“We need a way to try to solve problems, plain and simple. We need legislators to stay educated on the issues facing Native Americans,” Maziarz said in a statement. “We need to treat each other with respect and work together for the benefit of everyone living within the state’s borders. This Select Committee will have important work to do and I look forward to the progress we can make.”

Native-American leaders spoke favorably about the Senate’s interest in strengthening communication. The committee will help facilitate discussions between the state and its Indian nations, including the Senecas, the Tuscaroras, the Cayugas, the Oneidas, the Onondagas, the Mohawks, the Poospatuck and the Shinnecock. More than 100,000 New Yorkers have American-Indian ancestry, according to the 2010 census. The state is ninth in the nation for the size of its Native-American population.

“The Seneca Nation’s leaders, and its people, are pleased with this demonstration of potential progress in our relationship with state government,” President Robert Odawi Porter said. “This is just the sort of resourceful, forward-thinking leadership we’ve sought. A committee such as this one can help form the basis for settling our differences with the state.”

J. C. Seneca, a Seneca Nation Council Member, said setting up the committee is a step in the right direction. “The relationship between State Government and the Indian nations has not always been a productive one, but the Senate’s commitment to improving this situation is evident by the creation of this Select Committee. We call upon the Assembly to create a similar Committee and the Governor to re-establish the Office of Indian Relations that was discontinued in 1995,” he said.